Spring Lip & Cheek Colour - YSL Baby Doll Kiss & Blush

YSL baby doll Kiss & Blush, No.2 Rose Frivole 

It has been such a long time since the last post, however, what a better way to start things again on adsyMakeup other than talking about the amazing, truly exciting new YSL product - YSL baby doll Kiss & Blush!

There's been some hype around this product, especially given these have been available in the US for a while already, however for us in the UK, these will launch in stores on Wednesday (30th April, 2 more days! Not been counting down, honest...). I first discovered these on Mallory1712's YouTube channel, link here for her amazing review and swatches for 4 of the colours, after watching her video, I was determined that I need these in my life (her videos are amazing by the way, and in particular the tutorials are really really good!). And after some quick googling, I was pleasantly surprised that for us in the UK, these are available on YSL's official website, and even better that they offer free delivery as well as two free samples!

Anyway, back to the product, below the description from YSL's website:

"KISS YOUR CHEEKS, BLUSH YOUR LIPS Yves Saint Laurent introduces a double play of colour for lips and cheeks. A hybrid between a lip colour and a blush, this innovative air-whipped formula allows for an instant application on both lips and cheeks. With a luminous matte finish, colour is easily buildable from a soft and natural look to a more intense sophisticated look. The patented "hidden pearl" applicator is customised to glide perfectly on the lips and to allow the optimal amount of formula to be dotted on the cheeks. A range of 12 playful shades to complement each cheeky side of the YSL Baby Doll woman.

• APPLICATION TIPS: Use one shade and dot the formula on the lips and cheeks with the applicator. Blend with your fingertips for a softer makeup result. For a more intense finish, apply a second layer by using the pearl applicator to fully spread the formula on the lips. To be more playful and daring, mix and match two shades on lips and cheeks and vice versa."

Don't think I'll be able to describe the product any better than the actual website (hence the quote), but basically, it's a lip and cheek multi-use product - similar concept to the many other ones we've seen before, e.g. NARS multiples, Bobbi Brown pot rouge, Benefit's lip & cheep tints (although a liquid formula), and of course the classic "use lipstick as blush, when in a rush" method. But before you think that this is just another one of those lip and cheek products that only works for lips or cheeks, definitely give it a try when it launches in store - because these are absolutely Amazing (with a capital A)! Quick swatch of No.2 Rose Frivole below:

"Innovative air-whipped formula": the formula is certainly very special and has a very silky finish when applied to the lips, gives a satin finish initially but dries down to a very silky smooth matte finish. Although a matte finish, it is not drying and doesn't accentuate the bit of dryness on my lips, it's a beautiful muted bright pink colour (if this makes sense, it's a bring pink, but very everyday/ wearable), overall it is a great lip product. What makes this product even more special is just how well this works on the cheeks, just 2-3 dots and blend with a brush (MAC 109 or one of the Sigma Kabuki brushes), no shimmer, just a beautiful natural colour with a subtle sheen. It is also buildable, both as a lip colour and as a blush, seriously, just so nice and especially if you're someone that hates choosing the right blush to wear with a certain lipstick, this makes life so much easier and personally I really like the matching lip and cheek look (although there's obviously the mix and match option as well once you collect more colours, as shown in the promotion ads)

With regards to No.2 Rose Frivole, I initially thought it would be a pink with some peachy undertones, but it's actually a true pink, very similar to the Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet (below) in No.42 L'Eclatante which came out in the Chanel spring collection last year (believe this is still available). The Chanel colour is a very bright and vibrant pink, and YSL Rose Frivole is a slightly muted version. Also the YSL formulation is a 'luminous matte', which makes the colour more wearable than the Chanel (I do love L'Eclatante for a more dramatic look) and more appropriate for everyday at work / school / etc. On the cheeks, Rose Frivole gives a very natural flush and I think it's a nice alternative to all the coral / peachy colours we tend to wear for spring.

And finally, just a family picture of the package, with two samples (perfume and YSL Youth Liberator serum), high recommend checking out / purchasing from YSL's official website (links above) - quick and free delivery, good samples and great that we can get these products before they hit the shops! I will definitely be trying more colours in store after Wednesday (esp. No.3 Rose Libre, No.12 Moca Garconne). And finally finally, below the product in action (on cheeks and lips, natural sunlight):

Happy Sunday and have a great week everyone! 

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Separately, I have opened another blog, which is more of a photo blog (very little text) comprising mainly travel, home / interior photos. And I plan to also add some fashion photos as well as pictures of nice food / restaurants, just anything nice - as the name of the blog suggests: '@treasure - treasures that we treasure', link here: attreasure.blogspot.co.uk

It would be great if you could check it out, and as always, comments and suggestions are more than welcome! 

Recent Purchases - Nars

Okay, title probably quite misleading, these have been purchased in the past 5 months I'd say, this is the first of a series of recent purchases posts, starting with my favorite brand Nars.

I have to say, I think I go crazy at times, and it's really scary putting all these products together into one post, as I thought I was doing pretty well with not buying too much makeup...

But anyway, I thought I'll share the joy and show you the products I've purchased! 

Starting with these Larger than Life Long-Wear Eyeliners - AMAZING! I love these so much, got the brown one first and fell completely in love, so had to get more. They are very long wearing, smduge proof (couldn't get the swatches off my hand), very creamy, easy to glide on, beautiful shimmer and pigmentation... the list goes on - all one could want from an eyeliner I'd say. And I never thought about using green eyeliner, but this sort of olive-y green looks beautiful with brown eyes!

Colours are Abbey Road (blue with shimmer), St. Marks Place (purple), Via Appia (brown with shimmer), Rue de Rivoli (olive green with green and gold shimmer)

I would say I love the brown one the most, but I love them all!!!

Also purchased the Nars Night Series Palette - wanting to try the Night series singles for ages, and this palette was perfect for me, haven't had a chance to use it much though... however I would say that you don't really need this palette, as the 3 dark colours looks pretty much the same on the lids.

Also duos Habenera & Sugarland - both I've been wanting for ages, will talk about these more in the future

And Angelika & Laguna duo - have to say I'm not in love with Laguna yet, I do use it everyday, but not too sure about it.

And lip products - Turkish Delight, Chihuahua & lipstick Honolulu Honey (got the last two today, so not too sure yet, Turkish Delight I really like, and of course, I got it with Mac Angel lipstick... the whole Kim K thing finally caught on me)

And finally a lip swatch of Chihuahua, really like it so far!

Hope you have enjoyed this, and next one in the series will probably be Mac, or Laura Mercier, and I'll leave Chanel till around Christmas

Wow.... can't believe I've bought so much... feel quite guilty now, I'll work hard till year end and try not to buy any more..

Hope you're all doing well, and stay warm, it's sooooo cold in the UK at the moment!

xxxx

OOTD - Topshop Boots

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I  haven't posted for such a long time, moved to a new place, starting my first job, so it's been quite hectic. Hopefully I will be able to post more often, I've been taking a lot of pictures but haven't had time to write/upload.

After seeing these shoes from meganisobel's video on YouTube, I just had to get them, love the zip detail on both side, I have worn these so many times since I got them! They are a bit pricy at £75, but they are very comfortable, the heel is the perfect height, and make me feel really good when wearing these.

Okay, another angle...

And a late summer / fall OOTD - the boots in action! This was taken two weeks ago, it's freezing cold now, but two weeks ago it wasn't too bad, however it was very windy and the skirt caused a bit of a problem.

Blouse: Miss Selfridge - about 4 months old now, but similar styles easily avaliable

Blazer: Zara - about £30, very good quality and I was really surprised that it was only £30

Skirt: Miss selfridge as well... got it online about a month ago, £20ish

Topshop Boots - £75 Ambush boots- ahh just seen that they have a brown version... looks really good

Bag: £100 something, Massimo Dutti, which actually belongs to the company that owns Zara, I love this bag and I think the quality is on par with designer bags. This brand has really good quality pieces, and the price are not completely scary, so really starting to like this brand more.

 Oh and something really exciting for me, I finally got the side cross necklace, that was first seen on lollipop26, I always wanted it and finally got it, it was only around £25. (sorry, it's about 2am here in England, and I really can't remember the place I bought it from, but so many people on YouTube/Blog world have talked about this, I'm sure you can find it) I absolute love it!!!

And finally, the amazing Lola's cupcake... just look at how beautiful/sparkly it is!! It tastes great too!! (got them at Selfridges, London - quite pricy though, but ok to treat myself once in a while) :)

Have a happy happy week everyone!!!

xxx

What I'm using right now:

This was grabbed from the lovely Megan from Beauty in the Sky blog. I thought it was a very fun post and decided to do one as well, check out her version of the post here .

It would be really interesting to see what you're currently using, so please do a similar post on your blog too!

Shampoo: James Brown London High gloss shampoo.

Conditioner: James Brown London Volume boost conditioner. (Really loving this conditioner!)

Styling products:

Shu uemura Essence Absolue - similar to Moroccan oil, at the moment I like the Moroccan oil better, but the Shu one feels lighter.

Umberto Giannini Backcomb in a bottle - I really really like this product, it provides instant volume without hair feeling sticky or greasy.

Umberto Giannini Natural Curls Styling Spray - I really like this product too, I might do a review on these and write about how I use them.

Shower Gel: Nivea Happy Time shower cream - only £1 when I got it and it works good as a shower gel, it claims that the scent will make you feel happy, not quite sure about this... but I do tend to tell myself "I should feel happy now I'm using this", haha and it works.

Body moisturiser: Marks&Spencers Ingredients Coconut Body Butter - This was recommended by Stephanie in her March Favourites , so I just got this recently and really love it! It smells sooo nice, very coconuty, but still fresh, not overpowering at all. However, I'm not too sure if it's very moisturising though.

Deodorant: Dove invisible dry deodorant.
Fake Tan: Never used any.

Cleanser: Shiseido White Lucency foaming cleanser & Clinique rinse off foaming cleanser to remove makeup

Toner: Shiseido the skincare hydro-nourishing softener.

Exfoliator: Not using one at the moment, my skin is really sensitive.

Peeling: Not using any...

Mask: I have a lot of samples or gift with purchases that I'm trying, haven't found one that I love yet.

Serum: Kiehls midnight recovery concentrate - LOVE! I will do a review of this soon.

Moisturizer: Shiseido White Lucency day and night cream, and sometimes Chanel hydramax+ active moisturizer when my skin is really dry.

Primer: Nars primer with spf, they're coming up with new ones now I think, only use it occasionally, sometimes I just use sunscreen as primer.

Foundation & brush: Chanel Vitalumiere 20 and Nars sheer glow in Gobi mixed, Sigma Sigmax brushes.

Concealer: I have a few and just go for whatever I can see first, favorite for concealing spots is the Benefit Boi-ing, for undereye Elis Fass concealer.

Powder: Guerlain meteorites compact powder.

Blusher: Changes constantly but I'm loving Nars Orgasm at the moment!! I know a lot of people think it's overhyped, but been reaching for it a lot recently. Also love Nars Cactus Flower cream blush with MAC My highland honey on top.

Bronzer: Benefit Hoola - Only bronzer, use it to contour.

Highlighter: Nars Albatross - it's nice, but it's a bit too gold on my skin.

Eyeshadow base: Nars eyeshadow primer

Eyeshadows: Oh god... this changes every day, if I had to pick one, I'll say MAC Satin Taupe, so versatile, use it for all over lid, crease, to blend out other colours. I really love wearing colour on my lid and then using Satin Taupe to blend out the edges, this makes the look a lot more wearable.

Eyeliner: Urban Decay 24/7 Liner Pencil in Zero.

Curler: Shu uemura

Mascara: Clinique High Impact or High Length.

Lipstick: MAC Shy girl for nude lip, Nars Barbarella for peachy/coral lip, Nars Roman Holiday for a pick lip.

Lipgloss: Not a fan of lipglosses at the moment, not sure why... maybe it's too hot?

Nail Colour: Nails Inc- St.James on toes, Barry m Berry Icecream on fingers.

Wow... this is sooo long, hope you like it!

Have a good weekend everyone!!

xx

What's in my Easter vacation travel makeup case?

This post was inspired by this post by Pleasureflush, I really liked her post so I thought I'll do one as well.

I have been back to university for about a week now and still haven't unpacked completely. I have a deadline for a piece of work on Friday so been working on that all week and I have almost finished it now, so I thought why not take some pictures of what I took home with me over Easter vacation before putting them back. Easter vacation was 6 weeks and I didn't go anywhere, just stayed at home and relaxed while doing some work as well, *sigh*, the life of a finalist...

Anyway, I'll show you what I took with me, bearing in mind that I was home for 6 weeks and I know I always over pack. 



 Overview

 Eyeshadows

 Face products

 Other eye products (I forgot about Satin Taupe for the Eyeshadows photo)

 Lip products (and the cheek products that I forgot to include in the Face prodcuts photo)

Okay, I know it's an awful lot of products that I took with me, but I was really trying to cut down when I packed, for Christmas Vacation, I actually took home all my makeup! So I see this as an improvement and I am proud to say that all the products have been used at least once! But about 70% of the products have only been that once. I think this is a great way to experiment with products, not taking everything means I need to come up with more ideas on how to use one product.

I bought with me the Urban Decay palettes because I didn't really use them much, I think they're great palettes but sometimes I found that because they contain so many colours, I have to think about what combination to use, so I always just go for the simple eyeshadow duos, trios or quads when I'm doing my everyday makeup. Taking them home with me really made me appreciate them more.

And finally a NOTD - Barry M 308 Berry Ice Cream (I think this is the right name).

A truly magical and beautiful Royal wedding!

I think a lot of us are currently addicted to the Royal Wedding, it was really beautiful and I loved every moment of it. The service was beautiful and touching, it's really an amazing event not only for the Royal family, but also for all the people in Britain. I think it'll really make an impact on our society, making more of us feeling more proud to be British.

Of course, I was so interested to see Kate's dress, hair and makeup... And she looked stunning, elegant and really happy. I really liked her makeup and considering that she did it herself, that's pretty amazing. It's not a typical bridal look but still very nicely done and suits her well. I was so amazed when I saw her makeup, since I watched the lovely Kandeejohnson's Royal wedding inspired makeup tutorial yesterday! Kandee's predicted look was exactly like what Kate had on! Kandee, you're soooo amazing!!!

The link for Kandee's video is here

I apologise for the excessive use of 'amazing', but the whole day was truly amazing!

Let me know what you think about the wedding! And have a good weekend everyone!

Nars Summer 2011 collection - Now available online!!

Just a quick post to say that the new Nars Summer Collection is now available on narscosmetics.co.uk.

I really want to get the New Order blush and maybe Dogon eyeshadow duo. I haven't made my mind up yet, as I really don't need another blush, and I really want to cut down the amount of money I spend on make up. But this collection just looks so good to pass... I will wait a few more days and if I do get them, I'll definitely post pictures!

One of my favorite makeup guru - Fleurdeforce have posted very nice swatches and reviews of all products from the new Nars collection, the link is here:

http://fleurdeforce.blogspot.com/2011/04/sneaky-peak-nars-summer-collection-2011.html

Are you excited about anything from this collection? Let me know.

Hope you all have a great weekend!